Tag Archives: christian music

Day 6: Verse 5—For the Uncommitted, Polarization

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I love Thy cross, the narrow gate, the cosmic great divide,
Between the Lamb and all false hopes, crucifier and crucified
Take heed, disciple, bear thy cross, or up the hammer take
Hang there with Christ in His dark hour, or you will drive the stake

There was a time for Christian music was best suited for soccer moms in their 30s. This verse bucks this trend. The song we have been singing together presents a stark contrast, an ultimatum, a polarization just like Jesus did. One cannot get away with merely hearing lovely music and thought-provoking words when discussing the cross. It has to be brought back to its simple, inescapable destiny: you are either on your way to hanging on the cross, or to hanging someone else on it. This is the offensive message of the Cross.

For those who reject this notion, I invite you to think it through. First off, humanity is fundamentally sinful, and on its way, hopelessly to a rightly deserved death because of our rebellion against God. Whatever the state of our hearts, we find this state of heart in the people recorded during the week of Passover, all coming together to put Jesus to death. Whether we are insecure (Pharisees), curious but distracted (Herod), interested but uncommitted (Jewish palm-branch-wavers), committed but cowardly (disciples of Jesus), politically threatened (religious leaders), following the crowd, (Barabbas release-callers), interested in control and keeping the peace (Romans), or whatever else their hearts may be, all of them together joined with one accord to put the Son of God to death. That makes each group, by default, part of the “crucifier” camp. Apart from the grace of God, which of these camps would you belong to? If you can’t find your camp, look again.

Only the repentant thief on the cross chose to hang there with Christ in His dark hour, rather than continuing to hurl abuse at Him.  He showed us what it is to hope on the Lamb of God, and no false hope. He is the one who was promised paradise. “Up the hammer take” is simply a call to make a clear distinction: don’t kid yourself into thinking that if you’re not carrying your cross, you’re somehow innocent of the blood of those who are being put there still today. For testimonies of those carrying their cross currently, I bid you check out persecution.com, and get the monthly magazine for regular reminders of what following Jesus, carrying your cross, looks like.

Remember, Christ said that the way is narrow that leads to life, and the gate is narrow, and those who find it are few. How many of the numerous “Christians” today are walking this narrow path traced by the groove left by the cross beam trailing behind Jesus? If you are feeling convicted right now, remember what Jesus prayed when He looked out on those who had put him on that cross. “Father, forgive them. They don’t know what they are doing.” Receive His forgiveness, repent to wherever you last dropped your cross of total surrender to following him with your whole life, pick it up on behalf of your enemies, and follow Him.

Reflection Questions:

  • Do you believe there are only two kinds of people in the world, “crucifier” and “crucified”? Why or why not?
  • What is the difference between laying your life down for Christ and laying your life down with Christ?
  • What is one thing in your life that makes it impossible to pick up your cross and be ready to lay down your life with Christ?

Day 5: Verse 4—For the Fleshly Christian, Liberation

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I love Thy cross, the flesh’s bane makes old man “Sinner” cease
And when I choose sin’s chains again, it brings me back release
Take heed, disciple, bear thy cross, it sets the prisoner free
From ev’ry baited snare of self into Christ’s company

“Now I say this, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.” 1 Cor 15:50

This is not to say that we will not have physical bodies in the New Heaven and Earth, but saying rather that all of our old life, the life of the “flesh,” the old man, must pass into death, so that God can resurrect that which resembles His new creation patterned after His Son. This entails the casting aside of everything that is less than Himself or more than Himself, which we might try to squeak through the eye of a needle. All of this is the flesh’s nature corrupted by sin, and it requires an existence living in death to self so that we may have renewed life in the inner person by the Spirit.

“He who suffers in the flesh has ceased from sin,” said Peter (1 Peter 4:1.) This does not mean that if our bodies hurt that we somehow are more holy or righteous, rather it means that sin is grown in us from our old man which arises as we live in this “body of death” Paul bemoans in Romans 7. It’s not like sin is only on our outside, but it’s already a traitor on the inside, ready to raise and lower the drawbridge to let in evil things of the world and the Devil. But the cross deals him a death blow: everything the flesh would enjoy, He brings to the death of self-denial, which is coupled with the command to take up your cross and follow me. The Spirit desires against the old man’s fleshly desires, so that you do not do the things you please. (Galatians 5:17)

Now, does this mean we should never enjoy the good things our bodies enjoy? Certainly not! Otherwise, the flesh would take the opportunity to glory in its asceticism. Instead, be thankful and open-handed with the Lord in trust, fully surrendering every good and evil thing to His purposes. That is what carrying your cross looks like.

And for those who struggle with addiction, the cross gives you liberation. You are addicted because there is some area of your life that you have tried to depend upon, replace, or overcome by your own power without surrendering it to Jesus for Him to put it to death. Everything in your life must be laid on the altar of total surrender to God, “nailed to the cross,” and “put to death,” or else it will become an idol. Obviously, I’m not talking about people being killed, but rather that part of us which elevates any person or thing in devoted importance above God, rather than thankful receptivity from God—that part of us being put to death daily. As we do, we discover freedom from every snare of self so subtly baited for our own good, and we discover Someone who walks with us unfettered. Someone who wishes to run barefoot with us through the meadowlands of sunshine. Someone who knows us and wants to be known by us. This is the company of Christ that all Christians can keep if they walk by the Spirit, not carrying out the desires of the flesh. (Galatians 5:16) Remember, for the Christians, the only shackles are made up of our own bones and ligaments, and the snare’s bait—that which we refuse to let go.

Reflection Questions:

  • What area of your life is “me”-centered?
  • What is an aspect of your life that takes control of your thoughts, emotions, or plans independent of God?
  • What is keeping you from surrendering that to God completely right now, and thanking him for it instead?

Day 4: Verse 3—For the Tormented Christian, Emancipation

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I love Thy cross, the Devil’s doom defeats him once for all
And touts o’er him the empty tomb: the stone that crushes all
Take heed, disciple, bear thy cross, False kingdoms cannot stand
And ev’ry rebel spirit will be judged at your command

The cross is the emancipation of all who embrace it. Growing up, one of my favorite songs was “Early in the Morning” by David Meece, an anthem of Christ’s victory over the Devil at the cross. This verse takes a victory lap over all spiritual forces in league with the Devil, and is meant to give courage to any intimidated by his schemes.

The Devil is a defeated enemy who keeps raging and destroying as much as he can on his way down. Anything he can do to dim the lights on Jesus’ triumph, he will do. But any devilish spiritual power, whether in heavenly places or roaming around, that seeks to undo us needs to be reminded of the victory in the cross of Christ for all of Jesus’s little brothers and sisters.

That being said, it is no guarantee that the evil one’s torment or oppression can be undone simply by verbally invoking Jesus’ name or holding up a wooden beam. (See Acts 19:11-16) This is no magic trick. This is about authority. Jesus’ death on the cross and subsequent resurrection are what defeat the Devil’s most powerful weapon and buy back all the faithful dead who have waited for their redemption in Him. He now has all authority on Heaven and earth, and this authority He extends to His followers in the world. The world, still under death’s power, did all it could to seal a rolled stone to prevent intervention. Still, just like the rejected stone becoming the chief of the corner, so the attempted seal of Christ’s entombed fate has become the final broken seal of His victory over that which holds the world in its clutches—over death itself.

In light of Jesus’s victory on the cross, there is only way to guarantee that we do not fall prey to the devil’s schemes, or oppressive tactics: we carry our cross with Him by totally surrendering ourselves in trust to our wise and loving Father. The Cross of Christ is the only thing the Devil cannot beat, and it protects the Christian from the Devil having any foothold. The Evil One can only gain a foothold in any aspect of the Christian’s life that he or she is trying “to save,” but the cross is where the Christian loses their whole life for His sake, and find it in the resurrection.

The victory is assured, because no kingdom divided can stand. And any kingdom divided from the truth has already forfeited any lasting presence. This goes for earthly kingdoms too reflecting the spiritual forces in high places that influence them to elevate themselves against the Most High. The Cross stands at a level place for all humankind to be redeemed in the midst of mountains of pride creating valleys of poverty. And these rebel spirits will be judged when their time is finished, because of the outcry of those of us who remained faithful to death. The more we share in carrying our cross, the more we can rightly step into the full authority of Jesus Christ, won over sin, death, and the devil. It’s already ours in Christ if we will walk in the power of His Spirit, which Jesus committed to the Father with His last breath.

Reflection Questions:

  • What powerful forces of evil in the world today do you see shaping the current state of affairs?
  • What are some areas of your own life where you sense the Evil One at work to undo God’s restoration of all things?
  • How does the cross answer these?

Are you ready to carry your cross by surrendering all devilish footholds to obey God?

Day 3: Verse 2—For the Broken Christian, Restoration

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I love Thy cross, Your surgeon’s knife cleans deep each poisoned wound
By suffering all our maladies, sin’s cursed thorns You prune
Take heed, disciple, bear thy cross, by His stripes we are healed
And in those wounds we carry still, His glory is revealed

I hope to shepherd the hurting with this verse and the Cross’s restoration. The profound significance of the cross’s impact is vitally important to the Gospel because every one of us has been wounded beyond our own repair, and not one of us has been wounded as deeply as Jesus. This is difficult to accept, especially for those who are still going through the anger, depression, and soul-sickness that our wounds bring. Here, I hope to offer you a light for your journey in this dark tunnel.

When Jesus died upon the cross, He took upon Himself all the brokenness and wounds of all the world—the verbal, emotional, and physical abuse of close and distant enemies who were supposed to love him. In a moment in time, He showed what the Father has endured for millennia. The more you look at the grotesqueness of what He endured there, the more comfort there is in what you endure. But like those bit by the serpents in the wilderness in Numbers 21, the only way you can be healed is by choosing to look up at Him on that cross, and look hard.

Every blow He took was for your healing, and the healing of the ones who wounded themselves by hurting you. He experienced the depth of life’s sorrow and loss to be with you in the depth of your own loss and sorrow. He did not cheapen it, like some who pass over the cross to the resurrection. He didn’t let what He experienced be forgotten. His glorified body still bore the marks of His betrayal, His agony, and His humiliation. But now victorious, these scars bear a greater glory in life eternal. His story is immortalized not only in our memories but in His own body at the Father’s right hand, interceding for us still.

And for the suffering to come, He also offers greater grace. Sin’s cursed thorns tear at every aspect of our lives—relational, physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, but they are no longer rampant or unchecked. There is a bottom to the abyss from which He arose. There is a refuge in the thicket where the animals hide in safety. There is a cleft in the rock. And because Christ’s suffering came to mean so much forever, there is joy and hope for us that our stories will result in something greater, something more truly glorious that presently makes no sense at all. But this can only be if we are willing to commit our wounds on our own, our suffering for others’ sake, our unconscionable memories to the Lord, and trust Him to bring about something good. As Joseph told his retribution-fearing brothers, “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive.” We won’t be told why, but we will be shown His glory when we see and touch His wounds in person at last. Until that day, let our hearts be kept tender by recognizing His suffering, so we can recognize and sympathize with others in their suffering, so that they might see the glory of total trust in Him ablaze in our still-beating hearts.

Reflection Questions:

  • What have you suffered that you feel like nobody else can understand?
  • What makes it hard to look to God when you’re hurting?
  • In what ways have you seen God bring good out of the terrible things you have suffered so far?

Day 2: Verse 1—For the Private Christian, Justification

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I love Thy cross, Your justice paid to reconcile the lost
To kill our sin that’s killing us, You gave Your life the cost
Take heed, disciple, bear thy cross, it marks His way to Heav’n
And by it draw all souls to Christ to see their sins forgiv’n

The first verse is about justification—the jewel in the crown of Reformation Theology. It is at the very heart of the gospel itself and the most notable and essential work of Christ on the cross—the payment for our sins and the making us right before God by grace through faith. Any song about the cross would be replete without this glorious world-turned-upside-down significance of this singular historical moment. “He Himself bore our sin, in His body on the tree that we, having been dead to sin, might live to righteousness.” Romans 3 is a wonderful part of Paul’s theological treatise on how this works: from our sinful estate to God’s free gift of salvation in Christ Jesus. The verses I will highlight here are verses 23-25, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation (or valuable sacrifice) in His blood through faith.” This means that there needed to be a sacrifice made to pay for the sin causing us to fall short of His glory, and Jesus willingly offered Himself as that sacrifice for all who have faith in Him.

He had to take our sin into His body to become sin for us, so that the sin which kills us (Romans 6:23) may be put to death. And no one could pay that cost or can pay that cost except the one through whom, for whom, and to whom are all things: Jesus Christ, God incarnate. What a wondrous and glorious mystery!

The implications for a Christian for why they must carry their cross are these: Jesus left His people here on earth to carry their cross and follow in His footsteps so that:

  1. People could see Jesus’ work in a fresh and living way in His people, in whom Christ is formed.
  2. People can see that true freedom and release are not the absence of suffering, but fully entrusting oneself to the One who makes a dry-land pathway through the river of death.
  3. It is in dying daily that we are daily reborn to eternal life until He comes again.

There is little in this world more distasteful than a “Christian” who is unloving or selfish. If only we could learn to lay down our lives in love for others the way Jesus did on that cross for us. Christ indeed showed us the humble way of total surrender to the judgment of the Father, not for His own sins, but for the sins even of His enemies. This Love is the only love that breaks the power of sin and death to blind people from recognizing the God in whose image they were made. A Christian, by the Holy Spirit’s power, can love like this, and by his or her love draw people to experience the transforming love of Christ. Perhaps as more Christians do this, the less deconstructionism, church-hurt, and hypocrisy we will hear about, and the more baffling, unexplainable grace will draw souls to Christ so they might see their sins forgiven in Him.

Reflection Questions:

  • Tell the testimony of how the gospel has changed your life. Then check: did it include your sinfulness, Christ’s sacrifice, and your acceptance of Christ as your Lord?
  • How have you encountered Jesus in the world? Through whom have you experienced His love?
  • How might your relationships with others be impacted if you lived sacrificially for them, instead of for your own sake?

Day 1: For All Christians, Exhortation

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“Sing to one another in songs and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord.” Ephesians 5:19

One of the signs of the filling of the Holy Spirit is the ability to relationally and whole-heartedly express oneself in conversation with God and one another. This hymn is a rare juxtaposition of these two conversations, each being done in the presence of the other in one Trinitarian-plus-us community. The basis for this juxtaposition is the thing in common we share: Jesus carried His own cross and told His disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me.” Luke 9:23. Each time He said this, He did so in the context of Him being the anointed Son of God, and in His foretelling His future suffering.

For us, this cross-bearing is different and similar in important ways. It is different because His was a capital-T “Thy cross” because the cross He carried and died upon is where He fully accomplished salvation once for all. Christ alone has borne that cross fully, nor are we able to pay for our own sins by our own suffering to any degree. It is also similar in an important way because we can only grow into the full stature of Him in whose footsteps we are following by carrying our own cross to the end as He did. The whole Christian life can be seen as preparation to one day give your life in a shameful and humiliating fashion for His sake.

However, this exhortation doesn’t make sense to many who bear the name “Christian.” After all, “Jesus died a shameful death so I wouldn’t have to, right?” If Jesus truly intended that, would He have called His disciples to follow him and carry their instrument of ignoble and excruciating execution? What else would they need it for? The beauty of what I’ve discovered is that the church of Christians alive today is Jesus’ body still on earth, and therefore, she has much of the same physical work which He did: healing the sick, casting out demons, preaching the good news, and bleeding for the world. The whole Bible story from Genesis to Revelation bears out the ugly, inescapable reality: the world is only redeemable through the blood of the guiltless, trusting surrender to God. Before Christ, it was sacrificial lambs; after Christ in full, those echo the sacrifice of the Lamb of God in laying down their lives even for their enemies. These are indeed His disciples.

If we want to be His disciples, we must answer the question: What does it mean to carry your cross? It means to live a life on earth that is constantly being laid down for God and others, in preparation for the day and the way He chooses for it to end. This entails resistance to searching it out, as some martyr-wannabes might mistake my meaning, being eager to be done with the heavy load they carry for a consequently cheaper glory. Instead, it means living faithfully in full surrender until that last day so that we can share in the glory to be revealed at His coming. This is the joy we are offered if we do, the same “joy that was set before Him.” (Hebrews 12:1-2), “That I may know Him in the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings being conformed to His death.” Philippians 3:10

Reflection Questions:

  • Is there anything you are still holding onto that you haven’t fully surrendered to be put to death in your life? What fundamentally motivates you in what you do that is really about you and not about God?
  • What does carrying your cross look like in your current life stage? What will it look like in the next? How can you prepare for it?
  • How does a person embrace the cross in such a way that avoids the traps of “cheap grace” theology, while also avoiding the trap of legalism?

“I Love Thy Cross”– One-Week Devotional: Foreword

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I want to be careful not to be too careful in this devotional. Not only is the message of the cross offensive and foolish in man’s eyes, but any attempt to make it otherwise is offensive and foolish in God’s eyes. I also don’t want to explain too much behind the artwork, depriving this form of its potency. Still, I think some guided reflection can be helpful both for those ready to pick up and carry their cross and those not prepared to do so.

Furthermore, one of the purposes of this song is to be an anthem for the body of Christ, the church, to sing as one. In the poem, there are five problems that afflict the body, keeping it from cooperating to carry something as uncomfortably heavy and deathly humiliating as a cross. While in each verse, the cross answers a different issue, every believer needs the reminder of these aspects of the cross. I hope that this will inspire more verse and song written about the Cross of Christ.

The first verse addresses the tendency to keep one’s Christianity private and personal to the individual. It calls the one not bearing fruit of loving relationships to meditate on the significance of justification and to walk in Christ’s steps by laying down his or her life each day so that others may know Christ’s love through him or her.

The second verse addresses the stumbling block of feeling too wounded and broken to bear any cross on anyone else’s behalf. It calls the one who feels this way to recognize Jesus’ restoration that He accomplished on the cross, that His glory is revealed in brokenness.

The third verse addresses how many feel the torment of demonic oppression ties their hands. For the one who feels too bound up with spiritual torment to carry the cross, this song calls him to embrace the emancipation of Christ’s victory on the cross and bear his or her cross as the means to conquer spiritual adversaries.

The fourth addresses the appetites of the flesh and the old self to which Christians so easily succumb, independent of following Christ. To the one who is living for self and too distracted or drawn away by idolatry and addiction, this song calls to ongoing liberation, carrying a cross that calls for an embrace of death to self and the experience of walking with Jesus in newness of life.

The fifth verse, like Jesus’ end to the Sermon on the Mount, delivers an ultimatum to those who remain uncommitted to carrying their cross and shows them a polarization, calling them to bear their cross with Jesus, or they will find themselves on the wrong side of the lines drawn by persecution.